 Mike HlasHi, I'm Gazette/TheGazette.com sports columnist Mike Hlas. This is the Hlog. We will meet here, discuss things, and then go [...] |
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Hlastradamus: 5-0 last week, and more infallibility here for this week
Some impostors use crystal balls. Hlastradamus simply buys crystal after putting his knowledge of the future to good use.
Last week, the prophet raised his game. He went 5-0 — that’s right, world, 5-0! — against the spread.
Where else in all the world did someone give you as many as five picks that all came home? Why is the mainstream media not stepping over each other to contact the oracle for stories about his amazing accuracy?
That put Hlastradamus’ season-record at 11-6, a 65 percent winning clip. The sage would never encourage wagering on football games, but had you heeded his advice last week and played his five-team parlay, your life would be, well, richer.
But does the prophet rest on his laurels? Never. So here are this week’s little slices of heaven:
Florida -6.5 vs. LSU. Louisiana State is a house of cards, and The Swamp is no place to be flimsy.
South Carolina +6.5 vs. Alabama. This is the Gamecocks’ Super Bowl.
Stanford -10 vs. USC. Pete Carroll is glad to be long-gone from this game.
The Big Ten games all look too murky this week. However, let’s hear how you amateur prophets feel about these lines:
Michigan -4.5 vs. Michigan State
Ohio State -21.5 vs. Indiana
Penn State -8 vs. Illinois
Wisconsin -21.5 vs. Minnesota
Northwestern -10 vs. Purdue
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Don’t know about Florida/LSU…I think having everybody talk about how dumb/lucky you were all week would be a heck of a motivator.
I like MSU, OSU, Illinois, Minnesota, and Purdue with those spreads/points.
Holy smokes, Jebus, you nailed all five! Hlastradamus welcomes you to the exclusive 5-0 club.
mich, indiana, illinois, minny, NW
Florida LSU – overrated bowl. I like Bama – the team to beat them was Arkansas.
Michigan St, Indiana in a heart beat, Illinois, Minnesota in heart beat, Purdue. I have decided to reverse mortgage my home to send some wagers to vegas.
4-1, Serenity. Nice.
Wisco at home, inferior opponent? Take the points if you’re Minnesota. Wisco plays to the level of their competition unless you’re the perennial power house Austin Peay.
I agree with all three of your picks. I’m not sure if South Carolina can pull off the upset, but I have a feeling it will be a close game.
I wouldn’t bet too much on any of the Big Ten games, but if forced to pick:
Michigan -4.5 – MSU will be the best defense they’ve faced, and Bell and Baker should be able to run on the Michigan “defense,” but as long as Denard Robinson stays healthy, I think he does enough to pull out the win at home. It could be something like three points, but when uncertain about a spread of less than 7 points, I tend to go with the team I think will win outright.
Indiana +21.5 – I think Ohio State builds a lead, then works on their rushing game and tries to keep Pryor healthy. Indiana’s offense is good enough to keep this within 17 points or so.
Penn State -8 – Illinois has looked better than expected, and a lot of people are down on Penn State right now, but I was actually impressed with Bolden (for a true freshman on the road), and I think the Lions take out some frustration at home against the Illini.
Wisconsin -21.5 – I see Clay and White putting up big numbers, and Wisconsin, like Penn State, taking out some frustration against a lesser team at home after losing a tough game on the road.
Purdue +10 – With all of their injury problems, it’s hard to pick Purdue, but for me it’s even harder to give 10 points when Northwestern hasn’t exactly shown the ability to put teams away and win decisively.